Cable or conduit support



Filed Sept. 15. 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENT OR 1954 A. s. KINSINGER 2,692,092

CABLE OR conourr SUPPORT Filed Sept. 15, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 II/I INVENTOR. I awlzew y 2 Patented Oct. 19 1 954 CABLE OR CONDUIT SUPPORT Andrew S. Kinsinger, Gordonville, Pa., assignor to Glime Industries, Inc., a corporation of Michigan Application September 15, 1950, Serial No. 185,090

Claims. -1

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a structure for mounting a cable or flexible conduit supply reel on a trench digging attachment for tractors by which a flexible cable or conduit may be laid in the trench excavated as the attachment is advanced over the ground.

Another object of my invention is to provide a structure for mounting a reel for cable or conduit on a mobile unit in which the securing means for the reel are readily accessible from either side of the support for readily attaching, removing and replacing reels.

A further object of my invention is to provide an arrangement of rotatable member having differentially formed flanges on opposite ends thereof where the smaller flange serves as an annular bearing surface, while the larger flange serves as a connecting means for detachably mounting a reel for cable or conduit.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a construction of cable or flexible conduit guide for directing a cable or flexible conduit into an open trench excavated by a digger attachable to a tractor.

Other and further objects of my invention reside in the trench digging and cable or flexible conduit laying attachment for tractors as set forth more fully in the specification hereinafter following by reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the composite excavating and flexible cable or conduit laying attachment for tractors showing the arrangement of my invention; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the view being shown on an enlarged scale; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 of Fig. 1, the view being shown on an enlarged scale; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view on an enlarged scale taken substantially on line 4--4 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a view similar to the view shown in Fig. 4 but illustrating the component parts of the reel assembly in juxtaposition; Fig. 6 is a plan view showing a fragmentary portion of the top of the attachment of my invention and illustrating the table on which the reel carrying the flexible cable or conduit may be mounted; Fig. '7 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially on line 1-4 of Fig. 1 and showing the reel which carries the flexible cable or conduit in position; Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 8-8,of Fig. 1 and showing more particularly the manner in which the tubular guide for the flexible cable or conduit may be detached and attached with respect to the rear of the digging tool; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on line 9-9 of Fig. 1; and Fig. 10 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially on line Iii-III of Fig. l.

My invention is directed to a composite construction of trench excavating and cable or flexible conduit laying attachment for tractors. The excavating portion of the attachment of my invention is similar to the structure disclosed in my co-pending application Serial Number 149,379 for Composite Excavating and Pipe Laying Machine. The attachment of my present invention includes a shaped tubular guide which is mounted on the depending excavating tool and which extends from a position adjacent the rear of the excavating tool to a position above the frame of the attachment and in line with a supply reel. The supply reel is rotatably mounted upon a spindle carried by the top of the frame of the attachment and is adapted to revolve for unwinding flexible cable or conduit which is directed through the tubular guide and laid in the open trench excavated by the excavating tool as the tractor which carries the attachment advances along the ground; The excavating tool operates under ground and the flexible cable or conduit follows along behind the tool unwinding from the reel. Thus a rapid cable or conduit laying operation is accomplished as the trench is dug resulting in great saving in labor and installation cost.

Referring to the drawings in detail, reference character I designates a frame structure terminating in lugs represented at 2 and 3 which are attachable to the hydraulic lift of a tractor. The frame structure is symmetrically constructed so that there are four such lugs represented by lugs 2 and 3 distributed quadrilaterally of the frame structure for attachment to similarly located arms on the hydraulic lift. The frame structure I supports a centrally disposed I beam 4 to the opposite sides of which the ends of the frame structure I are secured as represented at Ia, lb, Ic and Id. The lower flange 4a of the I beam is slotted as represented at 4a and M" for the passage of downwardly extending plates 5 and 6 which form the support for the excavating tool shown at I. The I beam 4 is reinforced at the Junction of the plates 5 and 6 with the I beam 4 by means of plates 8 and 9 extending intermediate the flanges 4a and 4b of the I beam and substantially in alignment with the terminating ends of the members Ia, Ib, I0 and Id constituting the frame structure I. The transversely extending bolt member III secures the plates 6 and 8 to the I beam 4. The plate members and B are reinforced with respect to I beam 4 by a rearwardly -disposed abutment block ll extending transversely of flange 4a of I beam 4 immediately behind depending plates 5 and 6. The frontof the plates 5 and 8 are reinforced with respect to the flange 4a of I beam 4 by angularly inclined brace bar I2 having a yoke [4 at its lower end embracing plates 5 and 6 and secured thereto by transverse bolt l5 and having a yoke l6 adjacent its upper end which embraces the lower end of a strap l1 welded at Ila to the underside of flange 4a of I beam 4. Transverse bolt l8 extends through the ends of yoke l8 and through the open loop of strap l'l embraced thereby for fastening brace bar I2 to I beam 4 and thus serving as a restraining link for the excavating tool which is subjected to very severe strains during the digging operation.

The front of the excavating tool carries a reinforcement bar is which c'oacts with the cutting head. of the tool represented at 20 and disposed at an angle to the depending plates 5 and 6. The cutting tool 20 is mounted upon the front of block 2| into which the terminating ends of plates 5 and 8 extend. The rearward extension of block 2| is provided with a vertically extending socket 22 therein into which the end of a detachable bar member 23 may be inserted. The detachable bar minating rearwardly of the excavating tool 20 and substantially in the center line of the block 2| through which the flexible cable or flexible conduit 21 is delivered and laid in the excavated trench 28 as the excavating tool 20 advances through the earth at 29. The upper end of the tubular guide 24 is curved as represented at 24c and extends around the end 4c of the I beam 4 and terminates adiacent the supply reel 30.

In order to mount the flange 30a of supply reel 30 on the attachment of my invention I secure a tubular socket 3| to the top of the flange 4b of I beam 4 in a position over the digging tool 20 substantially midway of the distance of the fastening for the depending plates 5 and 6 on I beam 4 and the terminus of the digging tool 20. The socket 3| is welded to the top flange 4b in a position in which a condition of balance and equilibrium may be maintained throughout the laying of the flexible cable or conduit carried by reel 30. The socket 3| provides a mounting means for stub shaft 32 which extends in a vertical direction and is keyed to socket 3| by means of a pin 33 extending through a diametrically aligned aperture 3| a in socket 3| and through a diametrical aperture 32a in stub shaft 32.

The stub shaft 32 forms a spindle over which the rotatable member 34 i placed. Rotatable member 34 has a spacing collar 34a thereon which extends around stub shaft 32. The flange of rotatable member 34 carries screw threaded studs shown at 35, 36, 31 and 38 with coacting lock nuts therebn indicated at. 35a, 36a, 31a and 38a for maintaining the screw ithreaded studs in a fixed position in engagemeifitwith the screw threaded apertures 39, 40, 4| and 42 carried by the rotatable member 34. The lower flange 30a of the reel 30 may be formed with reinforcing interiorly screw threaded sleeves shown more clearly in Figs. 4 and 5 at 40a and 42a for receiving the ends of the coacting screw threaded studs for maintaining the reel 30 in rigid assembly with rotatable member 34. Member 34 is thus arranged to revolve with the reel 30 around stub shaft 32 as a spindle as the flexible cable or conduit 21 unwinds from the reel 30 as the digging tool is pulled along the ground by a tractor. The rotatable member 34 attached to the reel 30 insures operation of reel 30 uniformly about the axis of stub shaft 32 throughout the various conditions of loading that is at the commencement of the laying operation when the reel is entirely loaded as well as at the end of the laying operation when the reel 30 is substantially empty. The rotatable member 34 has differentially formed flanges 34b and 340 interconnected by the spacing collar 34a. The smaller flange 34b serves as the bearing means for the rotatable member 34, while the larger flange 34c serves as the mounting means for the reel 30.

Extended lengths of flexible cable and conduit may be laid using the structure of my invention as it is extremely simple to replace an empty reel 30 with a loaded reel and stop the machine long enough to splice the ends of the cable or conduit. The entire assembly embodying the cable and conduit laying mechanism is readily detached and attached to the machine by removal of the stub shaft 32 and the reel 30 and associated rotatable member 34 and by withdrawal of bolt 26 and removal of bar 23 for detaching the tubular guide 24.

I have found the cable and flexible conduit installation attachment for the excavator of my invention highly practical in its construction and operation for the rapid laying of extended lengths of cable or flexible conduit and while I have described my invention in certain of its preferred embodiments, I realize that modifications may be made and I desire that it be understood that no limitations upon my invention are intended other than may be imposed by the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letter Patent of the United States is as follows:

1. In a cable or flexible conduit laying machine, a frame, a vertically disposed socket support carried by said frame, a vertically extending stub shaft mounted in said socket support and extending in a substantially vertical direction from said frame, a rotatable member positioned on said stub shaft and having flanges of two different sizes at opposite ends thereof, the smaller flange rotatably' engaging said socket support, a substantially horizontally disposed rotatable detachable reel carrying cable or flexible conduit mounted on "the'larger flange of said member and a tubular guide detachably mounted on said frame and extending from a position adjacent said reel to a position terminating behind the frame for directing cable or flexible conduit from the reel to the rear of the frame.

2. In a cable or flexible conduit laying machine as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically wherein the larger of the flanges of said rotatable member carries locking means for establishing locking connection with the rotatable detachable reel mounted thereon.

3. In a cable or flexible conduit laying machine as set forth in claim 1 in which the larger of the flanges of said rotatable member carries vertically adjustable locking screws therein engageable with the rotatable detachable reel and means for adjusting said locking screws in said rotatable detachable reel from a position beneath said rotatable member in positions accessible from opposite sides of said socket support.

4. In a cable or flexible conduit laying machine as set forth in claim 1 in which said vertically disposed socket support terminates in a flat annular bearing surface and wherein said rotatable member has a spacing collar disposed between said fianges and wherein said smaller flange terminates in an annular bearing face rotatably engaging said aforementioned flat annular bearing surface and wherein the larger flange of said rotatable member carries screws that are vertically adjustable therein to engage said rotatable detachable reel from a position on opposite sides of said socket support 5. In a cable or flexibl conduit laying machine as set forth in claim 1 in which said rotatable detachable reel includes sleeve members embedded at spaced intervals on vertical axes flanges which are interiorly screw-threaded for receiving locking screws carried by the larger flange of said rotatable member, said locking screws engaging the interior screw-threads in said sleeve members, and means for maintaining said locking screws in engaged positions in said sleeve members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 36,438 Lee et al Sept. 9, 1862 193,019 Mettler et a1 July 10, 1877 781,568 Stevens Jan. 31, 1905 818,878 Eichhoff Apr. 24, 1906 2,118,553 Garlinger May 24, 1938 2,135,973 Garlinger Nov. 8, 1938 

